Moving to Melbourne, where to live good commute & great for young families

[Phoebe18]

HI all,

Moving to Melbourne with my office in the next few months and would love some advice on lovely areas for young family with lots to do and a good commute into CBD (Southern Cross)

I currently commute from Essex to central London everyday so used to doing a bit of a commute but weighing up from less of a commute / staying at current time.

from internet love the look of;

-  Frankston and surrounding areas but not sure on commuting time on trains / how long the drive is

- Sandringham, ticks the box of shorter commute but not sure how much there is to do with young family in and around area

- Malvern / Malvern East

- Mount Eliza / Mornington peninsular - Love the look but feel this will be just too far?

I will be working full time, my wife will be looking after the children (4 & 2) so good school / Kindie also high on list as well as things to do for the family when im at work.

Picky list of things I know but any help is greatly appreciated.

We will also be moving our boxer dog over with us but most of the above areas seem to have great outside spaces.

Thanks in advance all

Z

[calNgary]

Lots of luck with the move. Im in QLD so cant really help with Melbourne suburbs, although im sure those who can will be along soon.

In the meantime have you had a look at realestate.com ? It gives you a great guide to rental and buying prices in the areas your interested in.

Cal x

[Melbpom]

Of all the areas you've mentioned my pick would be Malvern East/Glen Iris/Ashburton.

Take a look at the Gardeners Creek Trail which is a very pleasant walk/bike ride close to the Monash freeway.

 

 

[kevsan]

Hi

Depends on your budget and requirements.

Frankston / Mount Eliza/ Mornington are great for kids and good for the beach etc.

 

Frankston is significantly cheaper than other places above, is about 55 mins on the express train into flinders street (which run every 10 minutes or so )

Mount Eliza / Mornington mean a 20 minute drive to the station, on top of the train commute. I live in Langwarrin with 1 wife, 2 kids and a dog and we love it, v. green and great spaces. - I drive to seaford station (10 mins) then 50 mins into the city.

Would have loved to live slightly closer to the beach, but couldnt make the finances stack up, and its only an 11 minute drive to the beach at frankston/seaford anyway.

If i drive, i can get into the city in about 45 minutes, but that is largely dependent on traffic etc and then it can be expensive for parking.

There are great schools locally including state and private. We send our kids to a church school which goes from Kinder to year 12 which is very popular

[alscotoz]

54 minutes ago, kevsan said:

Hi

Depends on your budget and requirements.

Frankston / Mount Eliza/ Mornington are great for kids and good for the beach etc.

 

Frankston is significantly cheaper than other places above, is about 55 mins on the express train into flinders street (which run every 10 minutes or so )

Mount Eliza / Mornington mean a 20 minute drive to the station, on top of the train commute. I live in Langwarrin with 1 wife, 2 kids and a dog and we love it, v. green and great spaces. - I drive to seaford station (10 mins) then 50 mins into the city.

Would have loved to live slightly closer to the beach, but couldnt make the finances stack up, and its only an 11 minute drive to the beach at frankston/seaford anyway.

If i drive, i can get into the city in about 45 minutes, but that is largely dependent on traffic etc and then it can be expensive for parking.

There are great schools locally including state and private. We send our kids to a church school which goes from Kinder to year 12 which is very popular

You'd be in trouble if you had any more! Still, one's more than enough. 

Frankston is still affordable, close to the beach but some rough areas.

[Phoebe18]

Thanks for the replies so far. 

55mins doesn't seem too bad but sounds like mt Eliza / Mornington too far as I would like to see the kids more and I currently commute 90mins each way.

guessing Malvern / sandringham are 30mins(ish) 

anyone know what the schools are like there / stuff to do 

thanks

Z

[Phoebe18]

19 hours ago, Melbpom said:

Of all the areas you've mentioned my pick would be Malvern East/Glen Iris/Ashburton.

Take a look at the Gardeners Creek Trail which is a very pleasant walk/bike ride close to the Monash freeway.

Great will check it out 

19 hours ago, Melbpom said:

 

 

 

[starlight7]

Park Orchards? Donvale? Good schools and kinders, very leafy and not too far from the city. Very middle class,though and not everyone likes that! Otherwise there is Croydon Hills, Croydon North or Blackburn all nice suburbs.

[Eva Winterburn]

We are in Sandringham and we love it, kids too, there are fantastic playgrounds everywhere and lots of activities for little ones!

Commute to CBD: leave the house at 7.30 (bus to station as car park is full long before then) and back at 6.40 on a good day...

Median house price $1.7m, if you can afford more go closer to CBD, if less move land inwards a bit!

Happy to help with Bayside related questions!

[Phoebe18]

On ‎17‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 09:51, starlight7 said:

Park Orchards? Donvale? Good schools and kinders, very leafy and not too far from the city. Very middle class,though and not everyone likes that! Otherwise there is Croydon Hills, Croydon North or Blackburn all nice suburbs.

Great will check these out as hadn't heard of them before and doesn't look to long a commute into the city

[Phoebe18]

13 hours ago, Eva Winterburn said:

We are in Sandringham and we love it, kids too, there are fantastic playgrounds everywhere and lots of activities for little ones!

Commute to CBD: leave the house at 7.30 (bus to station as car park is full long before then) and back at 6.40 on a good day...

Median house price $1.7m, if you can afford more go closer to CBD, if less move land inwards a bit!

Happy to help with Bayside related questions!

Thanks Eva. do the trains get ridiculously busy during peak hours? where I am in Essex you basically have to stand the whole journey into London...

 

[Eva Winterburn]

Sandringham is situated between the Sandringham line and the Frankston line so depending where you live you can use either or both.

The Sandringham line is the last stop so going in you can always sit, coming back a bit busier but most times you can sit straight away, if not you will soon as it empties out. And it has sea views!

The Frankston line has express trains and normal trains, you can get on at Cheltenham or Southland, express you will have to stand, slow train you can sit most days...

Having both lines close also helps if lines are flooded or somebody jumped...

Tickets currently just over $8 each way (this includes your bus and tram in the city) so cheaper than driving and cbd parking!

[kevsan]

1 hour ago, Eva Winterburn said:

The Frankston line has express trains and normal trains, you can get on at Cheltenham or Southland, express you will have to stand, slow train you can sit most days...

Yep - express fills up by the time you get to Chelsea/aspendale, but if you get on before then you'll def get a seat.

Coming back, depending on time and blind luck it can be like the circle line on a bad day, standing pretty much to Cheltenham. If its hot/rammed, i get the slow train, either all the way through to frankston or to mordialloc or Carrum and jump back on an express when it gets there, adds 10-15 mins to the travel time, but is a more pleasant experience.

[kevsan]

and on a 40 °C like today, i make the choice to drive rather than take the risk that there are delays, or the air con is broke in the carriage etc

[Phoebe18]

6 hours ago, kevsan said:

and on a 40 °C like today, i make the choice to drive rather than take the risk that there are delays, or the air con is broke in the carriage etc

Do you live down towards Frankston area? Just trying to work out total commute time if a) driving and b) you end up getting slow to Mordialloc then switching to fast train. Also what would be the daily return cost on train? Thanks in advance 

[Phoebe18]

8 hours ago, Eva Winterburn said:

Sandringham is situated between the Sandringham line and the Frankston line so depending where you live you can use either or both.

The Sandringham line is the last stop so going in you can always sit, coming back a bit busier but most times you can sit straight away, if not you will soon as it empties out. And it has sea views!

The Frankston line has express trains and normal trains, you can get on at Cheltenham or Southland, express you will have to stand, slow train you can sit most days...

Having both lines close also helps if lines are flooded or somebody jumped...

Tickets currently just over $8 each way (this includes your bus and tram in the city) so cheaper than driving and cbd parking!

Thanks Eva, like the idea of having a few different lines to choose from. What is the traffic like in peak hours in Sandringham area and is there ample parking at train stations?

thanks 

z

[Eva Winterburn]

Traffic is not too bad, but parking close to impossible...very small car park at station that is filled very early (long before 7) and all streets around station have 2 hour parking limit...

I guess that is the same at the other stations...easier to take the bus or cycle (but that may get interesting as the weather is somewhat unpredictable...today 42°...pffff)

[Phoebe18]

3 minutes ago, Eva Winterburn said:

Traffic is not too bad, but parking close to impossible...very small car park at station that is filled very early (long before 7) and all streets around station have 2 hour parking limit...

I guess that is the same at the other stations...easier to take the bus or cycle (but that may get interesting as the weather is somewhat unpredictable...today 42°...pffff)

Thought it may be like that. From looking at the map depending on where you live it seems easily accessible by bike. Are there good schools in Sandringham\Hampton area too?

what are the best activities in the area, any swimming pools?

thanks Eva

[Eva Winterburn]

Loads of good schools, both private and state, my kids are at Sandy east and love it, very different from UK schools though! All bayside schools seem to be ok, so once you are here just go visit to get a feel..

Swimming pools are mainly indoors, and of course you can swim in the sea. Lots of people have their own pool in the garden. Bayside has lots of sporty and cultural stuff going on, and really good facilities (parks with play grounds, skate ramps and public barbecues are our current favourite) 

The libraries offer lots of activities both for adults and kids.

If you have children and your container has not arrived you can join the toy library!

[Phoebe18]

5 minutes ago, Eva Winterburn said:

Loads of good schools, both private and state, my kids are at Sandy east and love it, very different from UK schools though! All bayside schools seem to be ok, so once you are here just go visit to get a feel..

Swimming pools are mainly indoors, and of course you can swim in the sea. Lots of people have their own pool in the garden. Bayside has lots of sporty and cultural stuff going on, and really good facilities (parks with play grounds, skate ramps and public barbecues are our current favourite) 

The libraries offer lots of activities both for adults and kids.

If you have children and your container has not arrived you can join the toy library!

Sounds great, we have a 4 and 2 year old so sounds like lots to do bayside. I think we are looking at March time just waiting on the visa currently. Have you done lots of exploring all down bayside? 

[Eva Winterburn]

Mine are 7 and 8, youngest one went to 'kinder' here for a while and found her feet quickly!

Bayside has lots to do but more spectacular stuff a bit further out: tree surfing at Enchanted garden, Philip island for penguins, Wilsons prom for glamping, Healesville for native animals and wineries and our absolute favourite was skiing at Mount Buller!

For flying holidays Bali, Fiji or Port Douglas, just a shame we need to work sometimes :-)

[Phoebe18]

On 19/01/2018 at 07:26, Eva Winterburn said:

Mine are 7 and 8, youngest one went to 'kinder' here for a while and found her feet quickly!

Bayside has lots to do but more spectacular stuff a bit further out: tree surfing at Enchanted garden, Philip island for penguins, Wilsons prom for glamping, Healesville for native animals and wineries and our absolute favourite was skiing at Mount Buller!

For flying holidays Bali, Fiji or Port Douglas, just a shame we need to work sometimes :-)

Those places all look amazing and making me wish we were moved already! I think we are going to have to jump in a car and drive around a few areas and work out the max commute time I want to be doing as so many of the bayside suburbs look lovely. Thanks for your help Eva. 

[kevsan]

On 1/19/2018 at 17:43, Phoebe18 said:

Do you live down towards Frankston area? Just trying to work out total commute time if a) driving and b) you end up getting slow to Mordialloc then switching to fast train. Also what would be the daily return cost on train? Thanks in advance 

We live in Langwarrin, which is just behind Seaford/Frankston. Its 10 minute drive to the station, i park at Seaford, loads of spaces before 7:30am and then get the express (usually the 7:03) which gets me into Flinders street just before 8. I wouldnt bother getting the slow and then switching as the express runs from frankston every 10 minutes, the slow train takes about 1:10 and goes via the loop, so if you want to get off at Parliament or melbourne central its easier.

Its $8.60 return each day regardless, or you can get a month pass which works our at about $5 a day depending on what you buy.

Driving can be 45mins to an hour on a good day, 2 hours on a bad. Its largely down to luck generally.

 

 

[kevsan]

On 1/19/2018 at 18:26, Eva Winterburn said:

 

Bayside has lots to do but more spectacular stuff a bit further out: tree surfing at Enchanted garden, Philip island for penguins, Wilsons prom for glamping, Healesville for native animals and wineries and our absolute favourite was skiing at Mount Buller!

 

Also worth checking out the moonlit sanctuary at Pearcedale - a bit smaller than heaslville but you can get up a lot closer with the animals. - our kids favourite is the Wallaby/Roo forest walk where you can feed the roos and wallabies!

[Phoebe18]

19 minutes ago, kevsan said:

We live in Langwarrin, which is just behind Seaford/Frankston. Its 10 minute drive to the station, i park at Seaford, loads of spaces before 7:30am and then get the express (usually the 7:03) which gets me into Flinders street just before 8. I wouldnt bother getting the slow and then switching as the express runs from frankston every 10 minutes, the slow train takes about 1:10 and goes via the loop, so if you want to get off at Parliament or melbourne central its easier.

Its $8.60 return each day regardless, or you can get a month pass which works our at about $5 a day depending on what you buy.

Driving can be 45mins to an hour on a good day, 2 hours on a bad. Its largely down to luck generally.

 

 

Thanks for this and the other suggested areas, very useful. Do you usually get a seat on the way back in peak hours? Looks like Frankston is a good hub for activity to be near too.